The Flaming Lips are somewhat of a local favorite, owing to the fact that the well-known band had its start in Oklahoma City.

The band is still based out of OKC, despite its national recognition.

Recently, the band released its new album Clouds Taste Metallic.

Unfortunately, this album is nothing new for The Flaming Lips - same old vocals, same old beat.

The first track, "The Abandoned Hospital Ship," sets the tone for most of the album. Pop this CD in, flip the lights out and settle in for a nap. The music is very relaxing, and can be listened to at low volumes.

The second track, "Psychiatric Explorations of The Fetus With Needles," is more upbeat.

Nevertheless, you can still chill to it because it isn't throbbing or pounding, but it is massively distorted, making the vocals impossible to understand.

Only a few other tracks are distorted this badly. Sometimes it can be used with a nice echo effect, but usually the band just speeds up the beat and ups the distortion.

Distorted lyrics with no point only increase the sense of insanity, and listeners wonder if they should get up and change the CD.

The percussion on these tracks only serves to hit the listener over the head with the beat - almost to the point of annoyance.

The third track, "Placebo Headwound," provides some nice guitar and bass lines. Wayne Coyne provides his typical high whine vocals.

The lyrics on this track are more soul-searching than the typical Flaming Lips:

"God, here's all my questions, how come there's never an answer?"

However, later in the album, the lyrics seem reminiscent of They Might Be Giants without the symbolism.

A few of the tracks have boring bass lines, and the music gets way too repetitive. The bass on other tracks is good.

Generally, the guitar riffs have a calming effect. They give the music a happy quality, allowing the band a wider range of musical ground. Unfortunately, the band does not exploit this positive effect enough.

Towards the end of the album, the band is a little more introspective. "They Punctured My Yolk" has interesting percussion. With its slow, plodding feeling, the song is almost a patriotic march into battle.

A few of the later tracks have more of a groove. The music finally feels like it's going somewhere.

"Evil Will Prevail," the next to the last track, sounds reminiscent of the first track. However, the lyrics reveal the typical pessimistic Generation X view that evil will win out in the end.

The last track, "Bad Days," is hokey. This "Home On The Range" song turns these alternative heroes into cowpokes. Excuse me guys, are your Oklahoma roots showing?

Overall, the album is low-key and super-relaxing. This is light up some candles, flip the lights out, and stretch out on the couch music.

The album lacks enough power for just listening to, but is ideal for background music while chatting to your friends.

Tune into The Flaming Lips, mellow out and turn on your brains for some serious conversation.